Category Archives: jewellery

The Arty Necklace – Preparations

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Whenever I’ve found time to tackle a few more jewellery projects, I’ve picked up one WIP then put it down again – the Art Necklace. It had me intimidated.

To recap, this is the source of inspiration:

I found lots of little frames and some chain at the Craft & Quilt Show:

Several things were holding me back. Many of the frames had brooch findings attached to the back that I needed to remove, and I was afraid trying to get them off would cause an RSI flare up.

Well, I finally gave it a try, and they turned out to be easy enough to simply rip off with heavy-duty pliers. But I then had rough, scratchy backs. I would have to file them down or cover them with something. That’s when I remembered I had a small stash of Contact from years ago that is velvety on the front. Soon I had little circles and ellipses cut out and stuck on all the frame backs.

An extra advantage to this is the frames will be less likely to slide out of place, especially if I wear the necklace over a garment.

There’s a Doovy For That

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A few years back I tried a whole lot of different techniques for turning books into things, inspired by this book:

One of the projects was making paper beads. I made this necklace:

And more recently this bracelet:

Paper beads don’t use up an awful lot of paper. They’re also very fiddly and slow to make. So they’re not going to solve any need to get rid of unwanted books, magazines or paper. Or even just one old book. But I do like the way they look, and if it weren’t my RSI I’d be making more out of old maps, magazines and pretty paper.

Then I spotted this on Pinterest, which I then hunted down, found on Ebay and got Paul to buy for me:

It does the winding for you. I suppose it would be useful for quilling, too. You can take the handle off and attach it to a bottle, which can be used to store the beads as you make them.

There really is a doovy for everything.

Contrast & Graduation

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Last week I discovered that Lincraft had restocked their jewellery finding aisle, so I was able to buy a few more findings. Not everything I need, of course. I’m beginning to understand why there are so many books and tutorials on making your own findings.

Mind you, it would be easier if there weren’t so many different metal colours to choose from. Gold, antique gold, brass, antique brass, silver, antique silver, that more standard kind of silver that isn’t silvery, bronze and black. And add to that the option of making things from steel and stainless steel wire, and countless ways to add patina.

Gold looks strange against my skin so that at least narrows the choices. Brass turns it green, but you can spray it with varnish to prevent that – or wear it on top of my clothing. I got sucked into buying a set of beads and findings in a very reddish bronze from Riot a while back and found matching chain at Lincraft, to which I added all the red beads that I’d accumulated to make yet another bracelet.

Some links taken from a light fitting I’d bought for my first house, but which ended up in my second, had a nice antique brass look. I did some neat wire wrapping that I was very proud of, only to find the bracelet fell off my wrist. A link removed made it fit, and I’m sure it’ll end up in some other project.

A porcelain necklace of beads in graduated colours I saw on Pinterest was the inspiration for this necklace. I used up more wooden beads and used three shades of nailpolish.

A Flick of the Wrist

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Craftwise, I’ve been mostly playing with the knitting machine lately (pics soon!). And soaking off stamps – but that’s a whole other story. I got to wondering if the jewellery making bug had passed, which would be a bit sad since I’d had a few projects I’d been enthusiastic about but hadn’t tracked down all the material for. For some of the projects I’m still waiting on the online shop to send me the items that weren’t in stock at the time. Had all the waiting stalled my creative drive?

Perhaps not. All it took was sitting down and looking over everything to get fired up again. It turned out that one project was not meant to be a necklace, but a bracelet – with turtles:

And I decided that these beads needed to be bracelets too, and converted some earring hooks to make the clasps:

And then a bracelet I saw on Pinterest inspired me to use these leftover paper beads from a necklace:

I also whipped up a bracelet helper. It’s just something you hang on to the end of your bracelet draped over the top of your wrist to weigh it down, making it easier to bring it in reach of the clasp. All you need is a hook and something heavy – but not heavy enough to damage the bracelet of course. I used this old belt clip:

And lastly, do you remember this shawl pin I bought at the Bendy Show and intended to use as a hair pin?

Well it turned out to be made of such weak, floppy wire that I couldn’t see it holding up the weight of a shawl or my hair. Just holding the pin made it bend. So disappointing. Having seen lots of wire wrapped jewellery on Pinterest recently, I wondered if that might make it a bit more stable. So I gave it a go, and it did help a lot. I still don’t want to rely on it to hold the weight of a shawl or my hair so it became…

Yep, another bracelet:

I used the pin to complete the circle, joined it with more wire wrapping and bent the end into a hook:

So I don’t think the jewellery-making bug has gone quiet yet. In fact, I’ve had to add more hooks to the wall of my dressing table nook to accommodate all these new bracelets. And I have more ideas waiting to be tried.

Finishitis

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First there were all the weaving projects back in April and May, then I joined the Machine Knitters Association, then I culled my jewellery collection and started making more, then went to the Craft & Quilt Fair and bought the book on Japanese Beadwork. It seems I’ve had a raging case of startitis for months.

But recently I’ve started to feel the weight of so many unfinished projects, which is always a sign that a bout of Finishitis is around the corner. Sure enough, I’ve held off starting new projects and got stuck into finishing off old ones. I fixed the red beadweaving necklace:

The solution was to simply cut the twisted loops at the bottom, sew them in, then use thinner thread to thread and sew new loops on.

A few weeks ago I was feeling too washed out and tired to go to drawing class, or to do anything that required much brain work, so I dug out the Con Scarf and finished it.

The first half had been woven at the convention, and the edges were, understandably, not very even. I’d been debating whether to just finish it and crochet around the edges to hide the change from uneven to straight, or unweave it and start again. I decided on the latter when I realised there were also skipped threads in the first half that couldn’t be concealed. But I put the yarn back on in the same order that people had chosen before weaving on to the end, and I adding a stripe of blue which, being the complimentary colour to orange, brightens it up without making it too exciting. I used my new fridge twister bought at the Bendy Show to finish it.

Things started to get less busy for me once August ended, but now life is getting hectic for Paul as he gets stuck into a photography assignment. He’s doing author photos so I’ve been helping out by asking for volunteers among my writing friends and lining them up for photo shoots. And being the reflector-holding assistant.

Moar Jewlreez

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Yep, I’ve been at it again.


I had threaded beads onto two wires for a project I changed my mind about. So I joined them and added a charm and chain…


… and a pretty clasp.


I made the length of joined spiralling wire years ago. Finally found a use for it as part of a bracelet.


Here they are again.


And finally, a necklace made of buttons.

At Last!

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A few months back when I was preparing for the weaving demonstration, I relied on some very old books, instructions that came with a mini inkle loom, and YouTube to work out how to weave tape. The only broad guide on the subject I found wasn’t published yet. But I preordered it anyway, and it arrived a week or two ago:

It’s a bit of a revelation, actually. Did you know you can weave inkle tubes? Well, I didn’t. Before it arrived I was feeling rather innovative having started an inkle using silver lurex thread. Now I have a lot more inkle weaving techniques to explore.

Once I get Japanese beadweaving out of my system, that is. I finally finished a piece. It took longer than I expected – several hours working in half hour/hour long stints to be kind to my back and hands:

It didn’t work out quite as neat as the picture in the book, but that’s to be expected. I wasn’t using the specified beads, which are evenly sized, but some leftovers in my jewellery box. The twist isn’t as tight as it should be, but I get the feeling that this sort of beadwork is a bit like knitting in that it takes practise to get your tension even.

I’m not 100% confident that the threads won’t eventually pull out of the ends, either. I wove two rows on each thread, so I didn’t have meters of thread getting all tangled as it went through each bead, and this meant I had about ten threads to deal with at one end rather than one to neatly wind around a clasp then sew back into the beads. I took the ten threads through a bead cap and some black beads, doubled back then tied them around a bead within the cap. I suspect I should glue that knot.

Despite all this, and despite gold not being a colour that suits me, I’m rather pleased with it and have lined up another project.

More Jewellery

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Two of those bracelets so popular at the moment. You know the ones. Tutorial here.

A piece of knitted wire made years ago as an experiment, that I didn’t know what to do with but too pretty to throw away. Bit of ribbon and some press studs, and shaping it into a ruffle = wire cuff bracelet.

Four lapis lazuli beads that I picked up somewhere. Not enough for a necklace, but with this simple but fancy clasp I bought at the Quilt and Craft Show they became a delicate bracelet.

When over in Perth a few years ago I discovered that some of the chokers I’d brought were now too tight. I bought a packet of different sized rings at a $2 shop, but the middle sized ones are low quality metal and bend too easily. What to do? Treat them like beads and thread onto a leather necklace base.

These were easy projects. I also started a necklace from the Japanese Beadwork book. While the directions are easy to follow, it’s slow work. And it seems the more jewellery I make, the more ideas I get for more. I’ve bought a few beading magazines and I’m madly pinning jewellery tutorials. I tell you what, polymer clay has come a long way since the 80s. And I’m even eyeing off Paul’s soldering iron and blow torch.

The Big Jewellery Tidy-Up Ep.2

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My collection of ‘costume’ jewellery is a lot like my wardrobe. There are a few pieces (my debutante dress) that I don’t can’t wear but keep for sentimental reasons. There are a few items that are seasonal (not much point wearing bracelets in winter). There are some things I once liked but don’t really wear any more, or really don’t suit me, or aren’t comfortable. And there are favourites – some of which I’ve worn out. Just as with clothing, I’ve got some jewellery I picked up at charity shops, and some I made by refashioning charity shop buys. Or remade out of pieces that I got tired of, or a jewellery project that didn’t quite work.

So after sorting and culling I took out my jewellery-making box and brought together the pieces that needed mending or I could pull apart and reuse bits of, and spent a couple of evenings working on it all in front of the tv.

In the jewellery-making box were some projects that had been waiting for time or materials, and some of the fixes and refashions required some jewellery findings, so after a fruitless trip to the local Riot Art – which was half empty thanks to stocktake sales – I jumped online and two days later a little package arrived stuffed full of findings. Then, of course there was the Quilt & Craft Fair mad dash, and then a few days ago I found some findings on sale at Lincraft.

So here’s some of the results of all that mad jewellery-making:

I was never completely satisfied with the nail-polish bead necklace, so I simplified it:

I used the leftover leather to make a plaited bracelet. With it is a bracelet I made a few months ago:

This was going to be a necklace, but when I realised I had a LOT of necklaces and not many bracelets I decided to do the latter. I think it suits the beads better this way:

The jade was originally on a ring and silver chain. Later I put it onto a strip of leather. This time I’ve added a pendant bail and chain, and a fish charm:

This pendant was originally a stitch marker:

Back when I was playing with making books into things I made several paper beads. This was the only ellipse one:

I simply strung it onto some tiger tail with some silver beads. I wore this the day of the Fair and it was commented on by people there, and later at drawing class:

Hat pins! The online store had the pins, and they came with a ‘clutch’ or without. I had no idea what that was for so I bought both kinds. The clutch keeps the beads in place more effectively than the bead I used for the other:

Some years ago I made this necklace using a loom weaving technique I learned as a child. The thread had begun to wear through, so I remade it on the inkle loom:

Then I got all inspired and made this one, which took several hours:

Unfortunately some of the loops are all twisty, so I’ve put it aside until I’ve got over my disappointment enough to pull it apart and do it again.

There are still some pieces to fix or refashion and new pieces to make, and Japanese beading to try, when the knitting machine and looms aren’t calling me.

Craft & Quilt Fair

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On Thursday, while at the Machine Knitters meeting, I learned that the Craft & Quilt Fair was on. Last time I went there was a cluster of jewellery-making stores down in the first aisles on the left. I still needed some findings, and I prefer to buy beads in person so I know exactly what colour I’m getting, so I figured it was worth going. But I wanted to spend Saturday on the knitting machine, I work on Sundays, and the fair wasn’t open in the evenings. So on Friday morning I hatched a plan: park in the 3 hour supermarket parking near the station, train into the city with Paul, be out of the Fair by 10:45am, train home in time to get to drawing class.

It all worked out, more or less, and it had unexpected benefits. I got there at 9:30 and walked straight in, whereas by 10:45 it was getting crowded inside and a very long queue had formed outside. I bought some of what I needed, and some interesting materials for new projects. Here’s the haul:

There are some seed beads and beading thread, some silver charms and the base for a scarf pendant and pretty clasps, and all the brass pendant and brooch bases are for a necklace inspired by this.

I also bought this book:

When I was a teenager I bought a beaded choker and bracelet made by an 80-year-old lady, and I’ve always wanted to learn how to make jewellery like that. This books has some beautiful designs and the instructions are very clear. I can see some beaded jewellery making in my near future.